Mind you, I'm no fan of gangsta rap but I love blues and its double entendres. It's the height of hypocrisy for elders to denounce Banner's lyrics while at the same time get their groove on to the raunchy lyrics of Bobby Rush, another Jackson native.

Banner told a roomful of bright black high school students who whooped and hollered as he walked to the podium:

We are gangsta because the establishment and the situation we live in in Mississippi is gangsta... Critics focus on the lyrics rather than the circumstances in our neighborhoods.

Banner encouraged the kids to "be gangsta about your school work." He pointedly asked his critics:

Where were you when I was passing out boxes standing in water. Where were you? You were not there. Regardless of what people say and do, I'm in the hood...Gangsta rappers are raising your kids because you didn't.

From there, it was a hop, skip and jump to the Smith Robertson Museum.The museum is housed in the former Smith Robertson Elementary School, the first public school for black children in Jackson.Its alumni include Richard Wright.

The museum’s depository includes artifacts related to black Mississippians’ experiences and contributions in the field, and in the fields of literature, art and politics.

Before heading back to the hotel, I had lunch on Farish Street at a café that’s been serving soul food since 1961. And, yes, the proprietor’s name is Peaches. You can find her sitting at the register by the door.

Hastings recently released a batch of documents to support his argument that his impeachment and subsequent removal from the federal bench was more about “politics” than the “evidence.” In an open letter to House Democrats, Hastings said:

Because I know you and because many of you are mindful of my 14 years in Congress, and in order not to stoke a simmering fire which had the potential to adversely affect Democrats in the ’06 election, I elected not to participate in the “discussion” about whether I should be appointed Chair of the HPSCI.

The noise and misleading, poorly informed, misinformed, and sometimes venomous attacks on my integrity and character by pundits, politicians, and editors screaming the word “impeachment” (ignoring a Not Guilty verdict in a court of law) in a frenetic attempt to justify denying me a position I have certainly earned and am completely competent to perform requires now that I set the record straight.

November 27, 2006

His name was Medgar Evers and he walked his road aloneLike Emmett Till and thousands more whose names we'll never knowThey tried to burn his home and they beat him to the groundBut deep inside they both knew what it took to bring him down

The killer waited by his home hidden by the nightAs Evers stepped out from his car into the rifle sightHe slowly squeezed the trigger, the bullet left his sideIt struck the heart of every man when Evers fell and died--“Ballad of Medgar Evers”

November 20, 2006

So, it was with extreme sadness that I received the news of the death of Ruth Brown (and here).From her signature song “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean” to “If I Can’t Sell It, I’ll Sit On It” and “That Train Don’t Stop Here Anymore,” Miss Brown’s music -- and sass -- have been a touchstone of my life.

Indeed, during those moments when I think I should just shut up, Miss Brown’s “Ain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do” emboldens me to soldier on.

The serious questions about the Buchanan-Jennings race only add to the high level of mistrust that many people already feel about electronic voting. More than half of the states, including California, New York, Ohio and Illinois, now require that electronic voting machines produce voter-verified paper records, which help ensure that votes are properly recorded. But Congress has resisted all appeals to pass a law that would ensure that electronic voting is honest and accurate across the nation.